The two Verdi operas presented during San Diego Opera's 2016/17 season, La Traviata and Falstaff, represent the composer at two distinct stages in his life and career. Nicolas Reveles examines the evolution of Verdi's style over the forty years that separated the premieres of these masterpieces, from midlife to old age. Singers Cherylyn Larsen, soprano, and Bernardo Bermudez, baritone, join Dr. Nic to perform excerpts from the two operas. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles"...

Join San Diego Opera’s Nicolas Reveles in an intimate discussion with David T. Little, the composer of “Soldier Songs,” and conductor Steven Schick. Little’s innovative opera is a gripping drama with a libretto made up of reflections on war by veterans of five major foreign conflicts. “Soldier Songs” explores the idea versus the realities of the soldier, loss, the exploitation of innocence, & the impossibility of expressing the truth of war. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles"...

In a veritable feast for fans of Giacomo Puccini, San Diego Opera’s Nicolas Reveles delves into the history, influences, and musical intricacies of Puccini’s TOSCA and MADAMA BUTTERFLY, two of the most popular works in the operatic repertoire. Dr. Nic is joined by acclaimed soprano Priti Gandhi in performance of selected arias from the two operas. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 29912]

On the occasion of San Diego Opera’s West Coast premiere of GREAT SCOTT, Nicolas Reveles engages composer Jake Heggie in a lively conversation about the work’s conception. Known for his landmark modern classics DEAD MAN WALKING and MOBY DICK, Heggie's newest work concerns Arden Scott, an international opera star who returns to her hometown with the intention of saving the ailing company that started her career. However, her homecoming coincides with the home team's first National...

In this special edition of OperaTalk, host Nicolas Reveles is your guide for John Adams’ NIXON IN CHINA, an exhilarating recounting of the President’s historic mission of rapprochement with Chairman Mao. “Only Nixon could go to China,” and only Dr. Nic Reveles could provide these entertaining insights into one of the most acclaimed operas of the 20th century. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 29042]

San Diego Opera’s Nicolas Revels explores the history and composition of A Masked Ball (Un Ballo in Maschera), one of Giuseepe Verdi’s most popular works. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 25332]

San Diego Opera’s Nicolas Reveles journeys to Hacienda de las Rosas Winery to discuss Donizetti’s sparkling comedy, “The Elixir of Love” (”L’elisir d’amore”), in which a con artist convinces villagers that an ordinary bottle of wine possesses magical qualities and hilarity ensues. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 25331]

San Diego Opera’s Nic Reveles guides us through the history and music of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.” Leoncavallo’s popular verismo opera draws upon the Commedia dell’arte tradition to tell its story of fatal jealousy set in the Italian countryside. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 25330]

San Diego Opera’s Nicolas Reveles sits down with Celeste Innocenti, Artistic Director of Chronos Theatre Group, to discuss the Italian Commedia tradition and its application in the opera Pagliacci. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 25718]

The 1170 murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II shook Christian Europe to its foundation, and set off reverberations still felt today. The nefarious deed also inspired two 20th Century works of art, the verse play by T.S. Eliot and Ildebrando Pizzetti’s opera. San Diego Opera’s Nick Reveles provides a guided tour of ”Murder in the Cathedral,” including its basis in Eliot’s play, the development of musical themes, and Pizzetti’s melding of words and...

Donizetti’s sparkling comic opera tells the story of an orphaned French girl adopted by a regiment of soldiers in the waning days of World War II. Host Nicolas Reveles discusses the genesis and composition of the opera, its social milieu, composer Donizetti’s life and influences, and performs musical excerpts. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 24268]

Nicolas Reveles introduces viewers to Beethoven's passionate hymn to love and freedom, in which a devoted wife disguises herself as a man and works in a tyrant's jail in an effort to save her husband from certain death. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 6530]

Nicolas Reveles hosts a revealing profile of Puccini's grand opera Turandot, a masterpiece of Orientalia and the great composer's final work. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 7478]

Nicolas Reveles is your guide to Camille Saint-Saens' opera, which tells the passionate story of the Philistine temptress who pits her wiles, and her sex, against the superhuman strength of the mighty Hebrew warrior. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 11741]

Join Nicolas Reveles for an introduction to Wozzeck. Alban Berg's modern masterpiece is the story of a Common Man, beset by problems not entirely of his own making and by the machinations and maneuvers of his fellow men and women. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 11742]

Join host Nicolas Reveles for an in-depth examination of Mozart’s delightful comedy of manners, considered by many to be the "perfect opera." Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 11743]

Nicolas Reveles tells "the story behind the story" of Rossini's comic masterpiece, perhaps the greatest opera buffa ever written. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 9450]

Since its moderately successful premiere in 1875, Bizet's Carmen has grown in stature to become one of the world's most beloved works of musical theater. Host Nicolas Reveles guides viewers through the opera's history, from its turbulent inception to its present status as a timeless masterpiece. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 9452]

Nicolas Reveles introduces viewers to Richard Strauss’ bittersweet masterpiece Der Rosenkavalier, an opera that is considered the epitome of the Romantic style. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 19228]

Shakespeare’s tale of doomed lovers has provided the inspiration for many adaptations, and Charles Gounod’s opera remains one of the most popular. San Diego Opera’s Nicolas Reveles tells you all you need to know about this masterpiece of the French repertoire. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 16588]

San Diego Opera’s Nick Reveles explores the history and themes behind Verdi’s story of the biblical king, Nebuchadnezzar. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 16587]

Host Nick Reveles guides viewers through the world of Benjamin Britten’s masterpiece, a tragic tale about a solitary misfit’s troubled relationship with a maritime community. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 14721]

Host Nick Reveles explores themes of power, familial love and redemption in Verdi’s operatic masterpiece Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 14720]

Host Nicolas Reveles explores the creation and technique of Jules Massenet’s lyrical opera Don Quixote, an adaptation of Cervantes’ classic novel. Series: "San Diego OperaTalk! with Nic Reveles" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 14719]